White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-necked Rockfowl

Picathartes gymnocephalus (Temminck, 1825)

196 gWeight

The white-necked rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae, with a long neck and tail.

Busiest months: November · Most records: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire

Vulnerable

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: November · Most records: Ghana, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire

White-necked Rockfowl has been recorded at 7 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Bonkro VillageGhana481 records
  2. Gola Rainforest NP – NorthSierra Leone16 records
  3. Kwabena Sam ForestGhana7 records
More places
  1. Lamto Ecological Research StationCôte d’Ivoire6 records
  2. Kambui Hills Forest Reserve – NorthSierra Leone4 records
  3. Gola Rainforest NP – EastSierra Leone1 record
  4. Taï National ParkCôte d’Ivoire1 record

Countries and regions with the most records

GhanaSierra LeoneCôte d’Ivoire

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The white-necked rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae, with a long neck and tail. Also known as the white-necked picathartes, this passerine is mainly found in rocky forested areas at higher altitudes in West Africa from Guinea to Ghana. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the White-necked Rockfowl?

The White-necked Rockfowl weighs around 196 g.

Where does the White-necked Rockfowl live?

Its breeding range: Africa: southern Guinea and Sierra Leone to Ghana. It is most often recorded in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire.

When is the best time to see the White-necked Rockfowl?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in November (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the White-necked Rockfowl endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-necked Rockfowl as Vulnerable.

What does the White-necked Rockfowl eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the White-necked Rockfowl in?

It belongs to the family Rockfowl (Picathartidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
196 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Vulnerable
More measurements
Wing
162 mm
Tail
180 mm
Bill
34 mm
Tarsus
63 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: southern Guinea and Sierra Leone to Ghana

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Rockfowl Picathartidae
Genus
Picathartes

Other birds in the genus Picathartes

Grey-necked RockfowlGrey-necked RockfowlPicathartes oreas
White-necked Rockfowl

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Marc Bulte. ↗

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